| International cricket fixtures involving representative teams from Hong Kong date back to 1866 when the first Interport match against Shanghai was played. Records from 1890 show Hong Kong playing matches against 'The Straights' and Ceylon. For a full chronology of important dates and events in Hong Kong cricket, visit our detailed History page. Hong Kong became an Associate Member of the International Cricket Council in 1969.
Hong Kong has a performed extremely well in recent years on the international cricket scene. As well as competing in the ICC Trophy since 1982 against other ICC Associate Members for the right to participate in the Cricket World Cup, Hong Kong has also played in the Asia Cup and the South East Asia Championships (a.k.a. Tuanku Ja'afar Cup) on a regular basis.
With its eighth place finish at the 1997 ICC Trophy tournament, Hong Kong attained a ranking of 17th in the world.
By reaching the final of the 2000 ACC Trophy Hong Kong qualified for the 2004 Asia Cup where they played Pakistan and Bangladesh. Also in 2004, Hong Kong played in the ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament which involved a series of 3-day matches (carrying First Class status) against other 'second-tier' countries in the Asia region.
Hong Kong reached the final of the ACC Trophy 2006 tournament in Malaysia and in doing so earned a place at the 2008 Asia Cup where they faced Pakistan and India. Hong Kong's experience at the Asia Cup was put to good use as they went on to beat UAE in the final of the ACC Trophy Elite 2008.
In 2007, Hong Kong played in the ICC World Cricket League Division 3, at Darwin, Australia, where they finished fifth. They were demoted to the ICC World Cricket League Division 4 which was played in Tanzania in October 2008. By reaching the final of that tournament, Hong Kong regained their position in the ICC World Cricket League Division 3 and they played in a tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January 2009, where they finished fourth in the six team event to cement their place in Division 3 for two more years. Hong Kong hosted the next ICC World Cricket League Division 3 tournament in January 2011 and the home team went on to win the event after beating PNG in the final. Hong Kong and PNG gained promotion to ICC World Cricket League Divsion 2 and they played a tournament in Dubai in April 2011. Hong Kong finished 4th in that tournament, securing them ICC High Performance Funding until 2013 and a world ranking of 20. In Twenty20 competitions, Hong Kong finished runners-up at the ACC Twenty20 Cup 2011 played in Nepal, losing narrowly to Afghanistan in the final. By making it to the finals, Hong Kong qualified for the 16-team ICC World T20 Qualifier 2012 in the UAE, where they finished 11th, scoring victories over Bermuda, Denmark, Uganda and USA.
At age group levels, Hong Kong participates in various age group tournaments organised by the ACC including the Under-13, Under-15 and Under-19 ACC Elite Cups, the Under-17 Asia Cup and in the Youth Asia Cup - an event with the finalists qualifying for the Under-19 World Cup. In 2009, the Hong Kong Under-19 team won the ACC Under-19 Elite Cup 2009 played in Kuwait and, in doing so, they qualified for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup Qualifier tournament played in Canada. A sixth place finish in that event secured them a place at the 2010 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, where they finished 14th in the 16 team competition (beating higher ranked teams from Canada, USA and Afghanistan in the process).
The Hong Kong's Women's Cricket team played its first international match in Shanghai in 2003. Matches against international teams from China and Japan followed. In 2006 Hong Kong played in a World Cup Qualifying Tournament against Pakistan and played in the inaugural ACC Women's Cricket Tournament in Malaysia in 2007 and the ACC Under-19 Women's Championship in Thailand in 2008. The Hong Kong Women's team tasted their first international success in 2009 when they won the ACC Women's Twenty20 Championships 2009 played in Malaysia. They defended their title on Kuwait in 2011.
Hong Kong's men's and women's cricket teams also featured in the 16th Asian Games held in the Chinese city of Guangzhou during November 2010, where cricket featured for the first time. The men's team scored impressive victories over Nepal and the Maldives but neither Hong Kong team made it through to the medal rounds of their respective competitions.
Hong Kong has also become famous for hosting the Hong Kong Cricket Sixes. First played in 1992, the tournament is fully sanctioned by the International Cricket Council and backed by the boards of the test-playing nations. Stars who have taken part include Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Steve and Mark Waugh, Viv Richards, Andrew Flintoff, Adam Gilchrist and Wasim Akram. |
